Bracketology: Bubble Watch (Building a resume and the bubble as it is)
ACC
Lead-Pipe Lock: N/A
Some Perspiration: Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Clemson
Better Double-Up on the Deodorant: Miami, Wake Forest
Duke Blue Devils, 12-1: Duke is going to be Duke. They’re consistently among the top programs in all of the NCAA, and that is no different this year. Even with the Grayson Allen drama, their only loss in the non-conference was against Kansas. Duke is expected to finish as a 1-3 seed come March, so just keep winning games and the rest will take care of itself.
Quality wins: vs. Florida, vs. Rhode Island, vs. Tennessee State
Bad losses: None
Missed opportunities: vs. Kansas
Up next: @ Virginia Tech (12/31), vs. Georgia Tech (1/4)
Florida State Seminoles, 12-1: One non-conference loss to Temple, who is a quality opponent, is the only blemish on the Seminoles’ resume. They took care of business against three potential tournament teams and have proven that they’re worthy of joining the bracket early this season. The question remains, however, can they keep this up? We’ll see on New Years’ Eve on the road at Virginia.
Quality wins: vs. Florida, vs. Minnesota, vs. Illinois
Bad losses: None
Missed opportunities: vs. Temple
Up next: vs. Wake Forest (12/28), @ Virginia (12/31)
Louisville Cardinals, 11-1: With wins over Kentucky, Purdue, and Wichita State, it is easy to say that Louisville is one of the best teams in the country.
Quality wins: vs. Kentucky, vs. Purdue, vs. Wichita State
Bad losses: None
Missed opportunities: vs. Baylor
Up next: vs. Virginia (12/28), @ Indiana (12/31)
Virginia Cavaliers, 10-1: Losing to West Virginia might not have sat well with the Cavaliers, but it did not phase them too much either. They currently sit at 10-1, with two major games looming up ahead. Louisville and Florida State are both tournament teams that exhibit high level competition. These games come back-to-back over the course of three days and going 2-0 would cement Virginia’s position near the top of the bracket (1-3 seed range).
Quality wins: vs. Providence, vs. Ohio State
Bad losses: None
Missed opportunities: vs. West Virginia
Up next: @ Louisville (12/28), vs. Florida State (12/31)
Virginia Tech Hokies, 10-1: A bit of a surprise team this year, Buzz Williams has his squad playing at a high level so far. UMBC is their last non-conference game before they get conference play started with a home battle against the Duke Blue Devils on New Years’ Eve. Four Hokies average in the double-digits, culminating in solid team play and a likely tournament bid at this point.
Quality wins: @ Michigan
Bad losses: None
Missed opportunities: vs. Texas A&M
Up next: vs. UMBC (12/28), vs. Duke (12/31)
North Carolina Tar Heels, 11-2: North Carolina, despite two losses to top-15 teams in the country, is off to another solid start. They have two quality wins, including the absolute dismantling of Wisconsin in Maui. They suffered no major losses and still have to play Monmouth prior to jumping into ACC play.
Quality wins: vs. Oklahoma State, vs. Wisconsin
Bad losses: None
Missed opportunities: vs. Kentucky, @ Indiana
Up next: vs. Monmouth (12/28), @ Georgia Tech (12/31)
NC State Wolfpack, 10-2: The key with NC State is that they have no bad losses – on the road against Illinois is a difficult game, as is Creighton. On the flip side, however, they don’t really have any big wins either. They close non-conference play with Rider, which should be a victory to move their record to 11-2 prior to a date in Miami.
Quality wins: vs. Tennessee State
Bad losses: None
Missed opportunities: vs. Creighton, @ Illinois
Up next: vs. Rider (12/28), @ Miami (12/31)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 10-2: Notre Dame was not supposed to be this good. It was supposed to be a down year for the Irish. But, to this point, the story has been flipped. Notre Dame is likely to finish the non-conference slate at 11-2, with both of their losses coming to top-15 teams. The win against Northwestern looks great, as NU’s only other loss came at the hands of the Butler Bulldogs. With a big conference schedule looming, Notre Dame could be in competition for a 1-3 seed in the tournament.
Quality wins: vs. Northwestern
Bad losses: None
Missed opportunities: vs. Villanova, vs. Purdue
Up next: vs. Saint Peter’s (12/28), @ Pittsburgh (12/31)
Pittsburgh Panthers, 10-2: The surprising winner of a road battle with Maryland, Pitt has backed up that performance with several other wins during the non-conference. Their loss at home against Duquesne is devastating, and is a large reason that they are in the First Four Out in this week’s Bracketology. The good news is it’s far to early to panic. The Panthers are in a favorable spot because of their strong strength of schedule both in and out of conference.
Quality wins: @ Maryland, vs. Marquette
Bad losses: vs. Duquesne
Missed opportunities: vs. SMU
Up next: vs. Marshall (12/28), vs. Notre Dame (12/31)
Clemson Tigers, 9-2: South Carolina is one of the most surprising teams this season, and Clemson knocked them off. On the road. Jaron Blossomgame is back and averaging 17.4 points per game. He has been solid all-around, but the mystery of his missing three-point shot needs to be uncovered soon. As a junior, Blossomgame was 44.6 percent from three. This year, he is down to a disastrous 17.1 percent. Once this number jumps back up, Clemson will be even more dangerous.
Quality wins: @ South Carolina
Bad losses: vs. Oklahoma
Missed opportunities: vs. Xavier
Up next: vs. UNCW (12/28), @ Wake Forest (12/31)
Miami Hurricanes, 9-2: Miami is in a position that many teams find themselves in at this point in the season. They have no really good wins, nor do they have any bad losses. They have been solid, and really that is all they need to do. A few marquee wins here, some losses avoided there, and Miami will be sitting pretty in the middle of the ACC. They will be competing for a 5-9 seed.
Quality wins: vs. Rutgers, vs. George Washington
Bad losses: None
Missed opportunities: vs. Florida, vs. Iowa State
Up next: vs. Columbia (12/28), vs. NC State (12/31)
Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 9-3: Like Miami, Wake has no good wins or bad losses. In fact, all three of their losses came against high level competition, two of which came on the road. Although they were destroyed by ‘Nova, their close battles with both Xavier and Northwestern are hopefully indicative of a team that can do more than just beat teams that are far inferior to them.
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: None
Missed opportunities: vs. Villanova, @ Xavier, @ Northwestern
Up next: @ Florida State (12/28), vs. Clemson (12/31)